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Earl W. Brannon, 1942

B.A., Denison University
M.D., Western Reserve Medical School

Citation awarded on Saturday, June 9, 1962

Trained as an orthopaedic flight surgeon, Earl W. Brannon is now chairman of the department of orthopaedic surgery at the largest teaching hospital in the Air Force. He was the first to develop a fully-accredited residency training program in his specialty. Two years ago, he was chosen as one of a dozen medical specialists deemed most qualified from the three military services to comprise the medical support team for the nation’s manned space effort. As such he assists in monitoring the condition of each astronaut during launch and recovery, is prepared to render any specialized surgical assistance needed, and conducts supporting research in bone and muscle metabolism and other physiological effects of weightlessness, high accelerative forces, and transition periods of space flight.

Earl’s role in this new field has expanded man’s reach by advancing man’s ability to survive and work in the hostile environment of space.